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This message is from Ellen Pinnes and The Disability Coalition.
Voting in New Mexico is underway!
Early voting in person began on October 8, and that was also the day that county clerks began mailing absentee ballots to people who requested them. (The deadline to ask for one is October 22.)
This Saturday, October 19, early in-person voting will expand to additional sites in most (but not all) counties so people don’t have to travel to the county clerk’s office to vote. Check with your county clerk to find out where you can go to vote. Contact information for all the county clerks, including their websites, is available at https://www.sos.nm.gov/voting-and-elections/voter-information-portal-nmvote-org/County-Clerk-Information/.
Before you vote, you’ll want to educate yourself on the candidates and other measures on the ballot so you can cast informed votes.
This year’s ballot includes the following:
- President and vice president of the United States
- Congress: One U.S. Senate seat and all three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election this year
- State legislature: All seats in both the state Senate and House of Representatives are up this year
- Local government positions like county commissioner, county clerk, district attorney, and others
- Judges (initial elections and retention votes)
- Constitutional amendments: four proposed amendments to the state constitution are on the ballot this year
- Bonds
- Possible additional local matters that are specific to where you live
TIP: You don’t have to vote on every item on the ballot. If you prefer not to vote in a particular race or on a specific question, you can leave that one blank.
Steps you can take to become an informed voter:
Get a sample ballot.
Reviewing the ballot ahead of time can help you get ready to vote. To get a “sample ballot” that’s specific to you, go to the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Portal at NMVote.org
- Scroll down and click on “Find My Registration and Election Information”
- Enter your name, birth date and county, verify that you’re not a robot, and click on “Search”
- Click on “My Sample Ballot” in the list on the left side, then on “View Sample Ballot” on the next screen
Educate yourself on what you’ll be voting on.
You’ll want to learn about the candidates and the issues before you vote so you can make informed choices. Some sources of information that may be helpful:
- Information from the League of Women Voters is available at www.vote411.org. (LWV is a nonpartisan organization that presents information on candidates and issues but does not support or oppose particular candidates or political parties).
- You can go to the candidates’ own websites to learn about their positions on issues. (The LWV website includes links to those websites.)
- The Legislature has a guide that explains the constitutional amendments that will be on the ballot, including arguments both supporting and opposing each one. It’s available here:
- The Secretary of State also has a guide that covers the constitutional amendments and the state bonds on the ballot and includes an explanation of how bonds work and how they affect taxes: https://www.sos.nm.gov › wp-content › uploads › 2024 › 10 › CAs-and-Bonds-2024-General-_-English.pdf. (Your ballot may also include local bond questions.)
- Judges in New Mexico run in one contested election. After that, voters are asked simply whether the judge should be kept in that position or not; a judge must get 57% of the vote to be retained. The New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission evaluates sitting judges and makes recommendations on whether they should be retained. You can see their recommendations at https://nmjpec.org/en/news/122-2024-nmjpec-news-091324.
TIP: When looking for information, go to trusted news sources – don’t just rely on what you hear through social media or from campaign ads, where the information is often misleading or outright wrong.
People with disabilities vote at much lower rates than other groups, missing out on a key way to influence policy that affects all of us. Let’s make 2024 the year that the disability community changes that and makes its voice heard by voting!
The Disability Coalition is funded in part by the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Council through Federal Program funding. Additional funding is provided by The Arc of New Mexico, Disability Rights New Mexico, the Independent Living Resource Center, and New Vistas. If you would like to receive emails from The Disability Coalition, please send a message to EPinnes@msn.com with “subscribe” in the subject line.